Weekend reading: anthrozoology

...and some we pose for photos with interesting books (in exchange for Greenies - don't worry, Mike doesn't do anything for free).

If you’re interested in human-animal interactions, or ever wondered why our attitudes to animals seem inconsistent, one book I can recommend is Hal Herzog’s “SomeWe Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard To Think Straight AboutAnimals” by Hal Herzog (Harper Perennial).

As the title suggests, most of us have inconsistent beliefs about animals that don’t stand up to the most casual analysis:

“How can 60% of Americans believe simultaneously that animals have the right to live and people have the right to eat them? Andrew looked up at me and said, ‘The only consistency in the way humans think about animals is inconsistency.’ This book is my attempt to explain this paradox.”p13

Herzog, an anthrozoologist (check his site here), doesn’t get all high-and-mighty and judgemental, but he does a brilliant job of looking at the psychology, science and arguments around our approaches to animals.

Inconsistency in moral and ethical beliefs is, he argues, human nature.

“The paradoxes that plague our interactions with other animals are due to the fact that much of our thinking is a mire of instinct, learning, language, culture, intuition, and our reliance on mental shortcuts.”p39

Indeed, throughout the book Herzog makes a very persuasive argument that

“Most people’s views about the treatment of other species exemplify what psychologists call ‘non-attitudes’ or ‘vacuous attitudes’. These are superficial collections of largely unrelated and isolated opinions, not [a] coherent belief system…”p240

This is a rare book that is very accessible, a fascinating read, yet seems to do justice to the science it summarises. Herzog is honest in subjecting his own beliefs to critical analysis, and it’s also a great introduction to anthrozoology.

If you’re in Sydney this weekend don’t miss the RSPCA’s Reigning Cats and Dogs festival in Glebe (details in this post).

Support for veterinarians and human animal interactions research grants

Ellie May and Chiana share a bed.

Most dog bites are preventable, with dogs typically giving plenty of warning before biting humans. One of the messages that Dr Sophia Yin was trying to get out there is that we can learn to pick up those cues. Check out this collaboration between here and canine-cartoonist Lili Chin (illustrator of this SAT’s amazing logo).

In honour of Dr Yin, the Veterinary Information Network (VIN) has scheduled a special rounds entitled “Dealing with Your and Your Colleague’s Stress and Depression.”

The session will be introduced by long-time advisor, mentor and friend to Dr Yin, Dr Jim Wilson DVM JD. It will then be lead by Susan Cohen DSW, a social worker and therapist at the Animal Medical Centre in Manhattan, NY.

To attend, log in to VIN, hit ROUNDS and click on ATTEND THIS SESSION.

Close up.

On this theme, Auburn University in the US is running a survey in collaboration with VIN and the CDC on the mental health needs of vets. It takes about ten minutes, click here to do the survey.

If you’re working in the area of human animal interactions, the Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) is looking for projects to fund.  

Addressing Evidence-based Health Benefits of Human-Animal InteractionDeadline: December 1, 2014, by 11:59 p.m. ESTThe Human Animal Bond Research Initiative (HABRI) Foundation is calling for research proposals to investigate the health outcomes of pet ownership and/or animal-assisted activity or therapy, both for the people and the animals involved. HABRI is interested in proposals that involve a variety of pet species (i.e. dogs, cats, fish, reptiles, small animals). Proposals should focus on innovative approaches to studying the health effects of animals on humans within the following broad categories:

• Child Health and Development

• Healthy Aging

• Mental Health and Wellness

HABRI is a nonprofit organization that seeks to demonstrate that our relationship with pets and animals makes the world a better place by significantly improving human health and quality of life. HABRI does this by advancing the growing body of evidence about the positive roles that companion animals play in the integrated health of individuals, families and communities.Application, review and oversight of HABRI research awards will be managed by Morris Animal Foundation. Morris Animal Foundation is a nonprofit organization that invests in science to advance animal health. The Foundation is a global leader in funding scientific studies for companion animals, horses and wildlife.To access information regarding this call for proposals, please click hereFor more information about HABRI, please visit www.habri.org.

Finally given the very sad news this week I am extending entries for our Australian Museum talk competition. Folks, you now have until October 7 to get those entries in. See here. 

Goodbye Dr Sophia Yin

Dr Sophia Yin.

The veterinary world is reeling following the announcement of the sudden, unexpected death of renowned behaviourist Dr Sophia Yin yesterday. More information is available here (please be aware this contains upsetting information).

Dr Yin (48 years young) was a passionate believer in the importance of understanding animal behaviour, the need for low-stress animal handling, and the importance of rewarding rather than punishing pets. She knew that the way we handle companion animals - as pets, as vets, as strangers approaching them on the street - could impact their welfare positively or negatively, and wanted to tip the scales on the positive side. Her website is a wonderful trove of resources that demonstrate how to apply these principles.

She created educational resources which she made available for free on her website (you can download these here).

She took her message around the world, speaking at conferences including in Australia. She even visited some remote Indigenous communities in Australia to help put together AMRRIC’s “Staying Safe Around Dogs: Living and working with dogs in remote communities” DVD (launched in Darwin just last week).

She wanted to be a vet since she was a little kid, and is the kind of person many of us want to be when we (eventually) grow up.

What a legacy. We join many others, not just from Australia but around the world, in honouring Dr Yin and sending our condolences to her family. She really did make the world a better place for animals, and we know that those she taught - tirelessly - will continue to do so. 

You can read more in Steve Dale's heartfelt article here.

Epidemics and the moral behaviour of animals

Charlie supported his favourite team on the weekend. We won't talk about how it ended, but
at least Charlie had a good time!

In observance of WorldRabies Day (Sept 28^th in case you missed it), we’ve enrolled in Coursera’s MOOC on epidemics to learn more about the spread and detection of epidemics.

The eight-week, entirely online course is free to anyone, and would be particularly useful for vets, vet students and nurses as well as pet owners who want to learn more about infectious diseases.

The worst thing we can do in a real infectious disease outbreak is panic. It is often said that during outbreaks healthcare services like hospitals are flooded by the “worried well”. The best way to control panic is to be informed…you might say it’s a social duty of sorts (and if you want to read more, Nobel Prize Laureate Peter Doherty has written a well-informed book on pandemics - check here).

If you want more info on the course click here.

Jessie, also a mad keen Swannies fan, dressed up for the occasion too.

Meantime I revisited this TED talk by Frans de Waal on whether human morality is actually evolved. We often claim moral superiority, but are we really better than animals when it comes to morality, empathy and compassion? 

Another set of questions this video raises is the ethics of keeping and experimenting on animals for the purposes of testing their morality? And is it scientifically sound – i.e. is something a captive chimpanzee does in a lab indicative of the behaviour of wild chimpanzees?

Check out the video here.

Cavy cakes and cat carrying

Cavy Cakes by Karen. The hay isn't edible, but these guinea pigs definitely are.

Yesterday I had just finished a guinea pig consult and walked into the treatment room to type up my notes when I was confronted by a herd of cavy cakes!!! The owner of Louie, a guinea pig we are treating for pododermatitis, just happens to be a genius in the kitchen and she constructed these miniature cavy cakes, which deserve to be shared (at least visually) with the world.

Karen's muse and companion, Louie.

Such a work of art were they, we felt they should not be eaten. However, we were advised that they had a jaffa-flavoured centre that had to be experienced. So we did some cavy-cake surgery and down the hatch they went.

The cavy cake in the foreground is modelled on Louie and the others are modelled on his housemates.

Definitely the culinary highlight of the week.

Surgical approach to a cavy cake (as as a pathologist might say: "Figure C reveals the cut surface of the lesion..." [NB just in case anyone was unsure, these cakes are designed for human consumption. Guinea pigs should NOT be feed cakes, chocolate, icing etc etc. - stick to hay, grass, vegies and herbs for your cavy colleagues].

Meantime the Huffington Post discusses the implications of animals being treated as the victims of crime in court. You can read more here (thanks for the link, Mick).

In other less serious news, Pat informs us that country star Taylor Swift was photographed carrying her cat to her car (see the picture here). It’s the sort of photo that would make most vets cringe. Swift claims there was method to her madness:

"The kitten freaks out about being put in the cat carrier," Swift, 24, tells Access Hollywood. "So I was like, 'OK, alright, we're just going to do this!' It was like a 10-foot walk from my door to the car." 

The key phrase here is “freaks out”. Cats do tend to be highly strung and DO tend to freak out when they are surprised, hear unfamiliar noises, see an unfamiliar environment etc. Vets aren’t being kill-joys when we insist that people transport cats in carriers. Anyone who has been a vet for more than five minutes has seen carrier-less public cat carrying go wrong. Like, even during a ten foot walk from the waiting room to the consulting room. A startled cat is capable of busting a Cirque du Soleil-esque manoeuvre to escape the grip of the most feline-savvy owner faster than Taylor Swift can open her car door (even if her surname is Swift). So...we're hoping that TS will read our blog and role model responsible cat carrying from now on!